Find out how popular the last name Fofana is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Fofana.

Fofana, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Fofana surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fofana in America

Fofana is the 16051st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fofana surname appeared 1,806 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Fofana.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fofana to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Fofana

The surname FOFANA is believed to have originated in West Africa, specifically in the region now known as Guinea. It is thought to have derived from the Malinke language, spoken by the Malinke ethnic group, which is one of the largest ethnic groups in Guinea.

The name FOFANA is likely to have roots in the Malinke word "fofana," which means "to be proud" or "to be arrogant." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who displayed these traits or had a reputation for being proud or arrogant.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name FOFANA can be found in the written records of the Mali Empire, a powerful West African empire that existed from the 13th to the 17th century. The Mali Empire was renowned for its wealth, trade routes, and cultural achievements, and it is likely that the name FOFANA was present among the noble families or traders associated with the empire.

In the 18th century, during the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, many Africans were forcibly taken from their homelands and transported to the Americas. It is possible that some individuals bearing the surname FOFANA were among those who were enslaved and brought to the Caribbean islands or the Americas, where their descendants may have carried on the name.

One notable historical figure with the surname FOFANA was Samba Fofana, a renowned Malinke warrior and military leader who lived in the 16th century. He is known for his exploits in defending the Mali Empire against invading forces and for his role in preserving the empire's cultural heritage.

Another significant figure was Fanta Fofana, a Guinean author and playwright who lived in the 20th century (1922-2008). She was a prominent figure in the Guinean literary scene and made significant contributions to the promotion of Guinean culture and literature.

Mamadou Fofana (1937-2020) was a Guinean politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guinea from 1972 to 1984. He played a crucial role in shaping Guinea's foreign policy during a tumultuous period in the country's history.

In the realm of sports, Ibrahima Fofana (born 1985) is a Guinean professional footballer who has played for several clubs in Europe, including Udinese and Bastia. He has also represented the Guinean national team.

Lastly, Ousmane Fofana (born 1993) is a French professional footballer of Malian descent who currently plays as a midfielder for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League. He has also represented the French national team at various youth levels.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fofana

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Fofana.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Fofana was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Fofana has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Fofana was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Fofana, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!